Original Batgirl Actress Yvonne Craig Dead at 78

Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl in the 1960s TV series Batman, has died at the age of 78.

Craig passed away Monday in her home after a long battle with breast cancer that reportedly spread to her liver.

Although she originally trained to be a ballet dancer and was a member of the corps de ballet of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo during the 1950s, the actress was best known throughout her career as Batgirl, starring in the final season of the 1960s series Batman alongside Adam West and Burt Ward. She became so attached to the character, in fact, that she complained to DC Comics after the Joker shot and paralyzed Barbara Gordon in the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke.

“I don’t know why they would want to do that to her,” she shared in an interview. “Somebody sent me that comic book, and in it, she’s hit in the spine by a bul­let! It was an awful thing to do, but I figure it’s their character and they can do what they want—as long as they don’t do it to me!”

Some of Craig’s other projects include Gidget, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, My Favorite Martian and The Wild Wild West. Her most recent role, providing the voice for Grandma in Olivia, ended in 2011.

Craig leaves behind a husband, Kenneth Aldrich.

Photo Credit: ABC